Crimean Crisis

The Crimean Crisis was a political and military crisis in 2014 which resulted from the Russian invasion of Crimea, which had the goal of assisting local separatists in their struggle against the post-Euromaidan Ukrainian government. On 16 March, the newly-independent Republic of Crimea voted to join the Russian Federation, and the international community regarded the Russian annexation as illegitimate, and recognized Crimea as a part of Ukraine.

Background
In 1954, the Crimea was transferred by the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR during Soviet rule, as the peninsula had a majority-Russian population. Following the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Crimea became an autonomous subject of Ukraine. During the 2000s, the growth of irridentism in Russia during the rule of Vladimir Putin led to concerns that Russia would aim at annexing Crimea and its Russian-majority population.

The Euromaidan revolution of 2014 sent shockwaves through Eastern Europe, as the pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych was removed from power by popular demonstrations. The pro-Russian separatist movement in the Crimea was worried about the fall of the pro-Russian government and the rise of a Ukrainian nationalist government under Oleksandr Turchynov, and, on 23 February 2014, pro-Russian demonstrations were held in the Crimean city of Sevastopol.

Crimean demonstrations
On 25 February 2014, the Russian-majority city of Sevastopol illegally elected Russian citizen Alexei Chaly as its mayor. A day later, thousands clashed during opposing rallies in Simferopol, with 5,000 pro-Ukrainian Tatars facing 700 supporters of pro-Russian organizations such as Russian National Unity. At the same time as the clashes between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian groups, Russian troops were ordered to take control of the main route to Sevastopol by President Vladimir Putin. On 27 February, Russian special forces seized the Supreme Council of Crimea building, and the parliament held an emergency session which led to the parliament terminating the Crimean government and replacing Prime Minister Anatolii Mohyliov with separatist leader Sergey Aksyonov.

Little green men
Unmarked Russian soldiers, nicknamed the "Little green men", cut off mainland Ukraine from Crimea, and the Russian "Crimean Force" grew to have a strength of 30,000 soldiers (including 11,000 Black Sea Fleet personnel), facing just 14,500 Ukrainian troops. By 2 March, Ukrainian military bases in Crimea were under the control of the Russian forces, and, that same day, Ukrainian Navy Rear Admiral Denis Berezovsky defected to Russia. Russian forces continued to seize bases throughout early March, doing so without bloodshed. On 18 March, however, unknown gunmen killed a Ukrainian soldier and a pro-Russian soldier in an assault on Simferopol, and the attack was blamed on the Russians. Apart from this, the Ukrainian generals sought to avoid open conflict, and they surrendered their outposts.

Crimean secession
On 17 March 2014, the Supreme Council of Crimea declared the formal independence of the Republic of Crimea, with both the autonomous republic and Sevastopol seceding from Ukraine. Parliament also formally requested that Russia admit the breakaway republic into the Federation, and, on 21 March, the breakaway states were formally admitted to Russia. On 24 March, Ukraine ordered the full withdrawal of its armed forces in Crimea, although 50% of the Ukrainian forces in the Crimea had already defected to the Russian military. On 27 March, the United Nations General Assembly declared the Crimean referendum and subsequent status change invalid, but Crimea was placed under the political and military control of Russia. By July 2015, Crimea had been fully integrated into Russia. The result of the Crimean Crisis was increased Ukraine-Russia tensions, and the Russian intervention in Ukraine continued during the Donbass War, another separatist conflict in Ukraine.